


wind down

by orphan_account



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Anthro, M/M, Porn With Plot, alcohol/inebriation, band au, switch characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:41:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23228803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's just another day for the two bandmates. Waking up, hitting the road, performing until they're sweating bullets, getting back to their hotel trashed, fucking like the world is going to end if they don't.Sonic swears this started because of creative differences. Shadow says it was dare. Either way, they can't let it come to an end. Their album sales have been off the charts ever since this mess began. Their new songs have been absolutely inspired.There's only one problem. No matter how many angsty, ridiculous love songs he writes, his feelings won't get through Sonic's thick skull.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 10
Kudos: 100





	wind down

**Author's Note:**

> it's loving sonic hours yet again, so i'm back with another AU because apparently i've let these nerds take over my life!!
> 
> enjoy~ ♡

Shadow flattens his spines as Sonic leans against him, the smell of whiskey strong on his breath. "You're heavy," he snarls, teeth catching on Sonic's glove as the taller hedgehog tries to feel around his sharp canines. The texture is disgusting against his tongue, so he bites the cloth off, hissing when Sonic pulls on his tail in retaliation.

"You're s'posed to be strong or whatever," Sonic drawls, toying with one of Shadow's unruly quills. “Bragging about all those hours at the gym.”

Before Shadow can get a word in edgewise, a tongue slips into his mouth. It’s no surprise, really—it’s a foregone conclusion that this kind of aftershow bickering will result in a romp around their shared hotel room.

Sonic is relentless in his pursuit of pleasure, feeling his way inside of Shadow’s pants without a hint of remorse. He flashes a smirk up at his partner as he sinks to his knees, tongue sticking out teasingly. “Condoms?”

“Back pocket,” Shadow mumbles, glaring down at the other hedgehog. He should know this by now. Even if they’re inebriated, which they usually _are_ , he’s a creature of habit. Nothing has changed since the third time, or the fifteenth, or the twenty-seventh.

His blue bandmate is still very, _very_ talented with his tongue. Shadow grunts as Sonic sloppily takes his bare paw to the base of his shaft, loosely gripping it to avoid digging his claws into the sensitive skin. He never shuts up, either—he hums and moans through the whole affair, throwing in a few quips when his mouth isn’t stuffed full with Shadow’s dick.

Shadow pushes him off when he feels close. There’s no point in coming right now, not when Sonic is just going to want him to come again in two minutes.

Sonic wrestles with Shadow until he pins the dark-furred hedgehog down on the mattress, green eyes bright with mischief. “My turn?”

The answer to that question is _no, it was your turn last time_ , but Shadow’s inhibitions are impaired, to say the least; he’s not good at arguing when he’s hard, drunk, and desperate. “Sure, whatever.”

Smiling, Sonic leans back, eagerly waiting for Shadow to grab a bottle of lube. Shadow usually makes him go get it on principle, but he truthfully couldn’t give less of a fuck today. He gave up most of his dignity a year ago when this became routine.

He’s forcefully tugged into Sonic’s lap when he gets within arm’s reach. He’s giggling and he can’t keep his lips or his paws to himself. “You’re bein’ real nice to me today, Shads.”

“I know. I keep a tally of every good deed I do as a form of blackmail. You’ll be receiving a bill for my services in the morning.”

Sliding down until he’s eye-level with Shadow’s ass, Sonic scoffs. “Should’a known there’d be a catch.” Shadow is once again prevented from retorting when Sonic’s wicked tongue steals inside of him, pale peach claws keeping his legs spread wide for easy access.

He’s delicate about the process of prying Shadow open, refraining from digging his nails into the soft linings of his inner walls. When he feels like his partner is ready, Sonic slathers himself in lubricant and slides home, eyes fluttering shut in bliss.

Shadow grips the sheets tightly, thinking a dozen loud thoughts. He has something important to say to Sonic; feels like he’s been waiting his whole _life_ to say it. Lips parted, gasping out Sonic’s name like a lifeline, it should be easier than ever. The words should spill out of him.

But try as he might, he can’t do it. He keeps drinking until he can’t see straight, until cobalt blue and electric green are swimming in his vision. He digs his claws into Sonic’s lowered quills, drinking in the overt gesture of trust, sucking a hickey into Sonic’s neck as if to scream to the world that _he’s mine—I wanted this, and he’s mine._

Just like that, climax hits, making his amber eyes cross. He’s lightheaded with the euphoria of release, covered in their semen. “Another city down for the count,” Sonic mumbles, smiling down at Shadow.

“Mm,” the other hedgehog grunts in the affirmative, hating himself a little more as sobriety and drowsiness hit him in equal waves.

* * *

Knuckles and Tails are scarfing down pancakes in the hotel’s dining room when Shadow finally drags himself out of bed. Noting the bristly texture of his fur and the blatant smell of sex that still clings to him, the echidna wrinkles his nose. “Ugh,” he says. “Fun night?”

“No,” Shadow snarls, slamming his tray down on the table impatiently.

The fox sighs. “Is that a no, you didn’t get to talk to Sonic before falling into bed with him, or a no, you two fought last night?”

Stabbing a piece of cantaloupe on his fork, Shadow scowls. “The first one.”

Knuckles frowns at him. “Dude. You promised.”

Shoving a sausage link into his mouth, Shadow mutters a reply. “I know.”

Their current band, BVRROWS, had formed partly by luck seven years ago.

Initially, Sonic and Tails had been moonlighting at hole-in-the-wall dive bars and dodgy old stages, taking their two-man act wherever they could go. The young fox had always been multitalented, mixing their tracks to form ruddy beats for Sonic to sing and play along with, and eventually, they’d crashed into an indie label deal with a cat named Blaze who’d been scouring the city for fresh talent.

However, she’d warned them that it would be a long and arduous road ahead if they didn’t have a steady drummer and potentially another guitarist. It wouldn’t be impossible, but hiring temporary talent would burn a hole in their already miniscule budget, and besides, having more permanent bandmates would give them a stronger image.

Knuckles had been hopping from band to band looking for a crew that suited his tastes, and had been glad to sign on with them after six months of trying out different people. The fact that he’d often bickered with Sonic about the cheesy stuff he’d been writing up to that point had been an accidental boon. Their first studio EP had been a mash of pop, rock, and reggae sounds. Mixed with the grunge-style guitar that Sonic had been fond of throwing in, it had been an underground hit.

Six months after that, Knuckles said that he’d heard about a sick guitarist up north who’d posted that he’d been looking for a new band. He could play bass, guitar, and sing, if necessary, but he preferred not to. As an added bonus, when they’d finally gotten a chance to meet them, Shadow told the rest of the guys that he wrote lyrics, too, but he didn’t usually have a tune to go along with them.

Thus, the newly formed BVRROWS had changed their logo, style, and system. Shadow had turned up his nose at their frilly, happy-go-lucky lyrics and the hyper-pop sound covering up such skillful playing, leaning more heavily on the progressive rock tracks. The four of them had butt heads a hell of a lot more often since Shadow had joined them, but their first studio album had been a true breakout, so they’d conceded that the dark-furred hedgehog had a point, and had steered their band more heavily in that direction.

The following six years had been a study in communication, compromise, and ego-management. Tails had been forced to play the peacemaker more than once because Shadow and Knuckles’ idea of meeting each other halfway often involved shouting until they felt compelled to start throwing fists.

Contrarily, Sonic has always been finnicky—though he’s indisputably the band leader and a crowd favorite, he’s always been flighty and hard to pin down, which is why they’ve only been on three tours to date.

This tour has been their longest-running one yet, and everything had kicked off with a bang.

Sonic and Shadow had worked tirelessly on the lyrics, the basslines, the concepts, and when the first track had been released, fans had been uproariously excited for more, much to their delight. Finalizing everything had worked both of them into a fury, losing their patience at every turn, fighting to make this album their best yet.

For whatever reason, the night they’d decided to put the finishing touches on the last track, they’d both gotten exceedingly _trashed_. They’d stumbled into bed with each other, snarling and scratching the whole way, Shadow slamming his cock into Sonic until he moaned for more and then they’d switched positions. Silently, they’d agreed never to talk about it, and they’d polished up the album rather quietly, all things considered.

Critics had written rave reviews for their new album, and when they’d posted tickets for the first ten tour dates, seven of their shows sold out overnight. With the worldwide tour looming on the horizon, Shadow had considered the whole mess with Sonic dead and buried, but he’d been proven wrong just a few weeks later.

Curiously, Sonic has been determined to get Shadow pissy-drunk after every concert, going so far as to _challenge_ him to a shot-showdown in whatever bar they find themselves in. Shadow’s never been the type to back down, so he takes Sonic up on it every time, and, much to their bandmates’ chagrin, they both get so loud in their drunken ramblings that they have to be forced back into their hotel rooms for the sake of everyone else’s sanity.

Sonic used to room with Tails, and Shadow had similarly stayed with Knuckles, but after the third annoying shouting match, their bandmates had decided that this was becoming a pattern, so they’d conceded to rooming together and staying the hell out of their way.

It’s during the fifth pass that Tails discovers the truth about what they’ve been up to, scarring him for life. He’d needed to speak with Sonic about an upcoming press release, only to come face-to-face with the two hedgehogs grinding against each other in the hallway outside of their door, forcing him to _strongly_ encourage them to keep their business behind closed doors.

Somewhere along the way, Shadow starts thinking about _why_ he’s let this go on for so long without calling Sonic out on his shit. Digging through his notebook had led him to the heart of the matter—apparently, he’s been thoughtlessly scribbling down sappy, stupid love songs, and they all center around the color blue or green eyes.

Despite his urge to immediately burn the thing to a crisp, he stops himself. He can disguise some of the overt references and use the material. The lyrics aren’t that bad, just embarrassingly personal.

So, they work them into their sets. He has a couple of duets with Sonic where they get a chance to test them out, utilizing Sonic’s wide vocal register and Shadow’s hard-hitting bass. It’s ironic, really, that the object of his freshly-realized affections is crooning about _himself_ to audience of thousands. Idly, Shadow laughs about it. If Sonic knew, he’d _adore_ that, egotistic softie that he is.

However, he’s aware that refusing to talk about feelings with one’s crush and fellow band member is bad form at best and shockingly stupid at worst. They spend most of their _lives_ together.

The _talk_ had been a long time coming. When Knuckles and Tails had cornered Shadow last week to figure out where the hell the whole ‘no strings attached’ with Sonic was going, he’d already been knee-deep in his own internal turmoil.

“Well I, for one, think you’re being a real idiot about this,” Tails says, waving an apple slice in Shadow’s face with authority. “He wouldn’t sleep with you if he didn’t like you.”

“With all due respect,” Knuckles replies, “You’re only like, twenty, dude.”

“Twenty- _one_ as of last month, thanks very much.”

“Even though you’re a pretty smart kid, Sonic practically raised you. You’ll always think the best of him.”

Tails frowns. “Okay, point taken. That doesn’t mean I’m _wrong_ , it just means I’m bias.”

The echidna rolls his eyes. “Exactly. Listen, Shadow, I’ve known big blue just a little longer than you have, and I’ll be the first to say that he can be a callous asshole, but he means well. He doesn’t mean to hurt your feelings, but if you don’t tell him that this _means_ something to you, it’ll never get across his thick skull. Whether that means you two stop having sex and things stay awkward between us for a while or not, you need to clear the fucking air.”

As if summoned by the very mention of him, Sonic appears. “Clear the air about what?”

Knuckles clutches the moon tattoo on his chest in shock, then stands up to throttle Sonic once he regains his wits. “None of your business, you dick—and I _told_ you to stop using your super speed indoors. You know it blows dirt everywhere.”

Sonic huffs. “Sorry, knucklehead, I didn’t see any signs warning me not to run around. Besides, I didn’t go that fast. Your meal should be safe.” Sidling into the empty spot beside Shadow, Sonic leans on his left paw. “Nobody got me anything?”

Tails beams. “I’ll grab you something. What d’you want?”

“Stop spoiling him, Tails,” Shadow snarls. “We’re not your maids, and we can’t be expected to infer what it is you want for breakfast when you finally decide to grace us with your presence. Go get your own food.”

“Yikes,” Sonic jabs, airily poking Shadow in the arm with a sunny grin. “Who peed in your cornflakes? Thanks for the offer, buddy, but _somebody_ doesn’t like it when I’m lazy. I’ll be right back.”

“You like _that_ ,” Knuckles grumbles. “Hell hath frozen over.”

“Don’t remind me,” Shadow grouses back.

* * *

They go to another city, wow another crowd, and wade through another bottle of booze. Shadow cackles at something inane before Knuckles glares at him, trailing off awkwardly. Sonic notes his lack of mirth with brightly flushed cheeks, his lack of personal space as rampant as ever. “Somethin’ wrong?”

The shorter hedgehog shakes his head, grabbing Sonic by the wrist. “Just ready to go back to the hotel.”

“Mmkay.” He pulls a stack of bills out of his wallet and blows their bartender a kiss before locking arms with Shadow, the two of them stumbling into a cab and heading up to their room.

Shadow doesn’t want Sonic to break things off early, so he keeps the usual pace, slamming Sonic against the wall as soon as the door’s open, locking lips messily as he lets his spines droop invitingly.

They push and pull, digging claws into each other’s quills, urgently squirming out of their clothes, peeling off their sweat-drenched accessories.

“You know,” Shadow purrs, scrubbing his paws down Sonic’s hips, which makes him shiver with pleasure, “all of this started because of a dare.”

“Did it?” Sonic dreamily muses. “I thought it was because of those lyrics you wrote.”

Like he’s been branded, Shadow pulls away from his bandmate with a startled stare. “What lyrics?”

Noting Shadow’s distress, Sonic frowns, holding up his hands in surrender. “Y’know, the ones from that last track on our latest album. We kept bickering about it, but when we were drunk you slapped something down about _being the one for me_ or whatever.”

With a throbbing head and a thunderous pulse, Shadow says, “Sorry, what?”

Sonic sits down on the bed, crossing his arms across his chest. “Seriously? Was it a joke or something? Because I kind of thought this was like, a thing. _Our_ thing. But I guess not.”

Shadow rubs his temples with a scowl. “When did I say that?”

“Last year,” Sonic replies, his tone steadily becoming more furious. “It was our first big concept album. We had the whole plot down, about the impact of memories, good and evil, world domination. We couldn’t figure out how to end it, and you said, _it has to be about redemption_. The character we loosely based on you saved the world with my character before he died, and you told me that I meant everything to you. That you wouldn’t have done it if you didn’t love me. Or, at least, I thought that’s what you _meant_.”

Suddenly, Shadow feels like he’s going to throw up. Throat dry, he croaks out, “I said that?”

“Not in so many words,” Sonic says, standing up with a sigh. “Listen, I’m sorry I misunderstood. I’ll go.”

“Wait,” Shadow snaps, hurriedly grabbing Sonic’s wrist. “Please.”

Looking at Shadow and realizing that he looks distraught, Sonic sags a bit, green eyes peering into amber. “You _did_ mean it.”

“To be fair, I didn’t think I meant it at the time,” Shadow murmurs, claws running over the delicate fur of Sonic’s tiny arms. “Besides, I was blackout drunk. How the hell was I supposed to remember that I confessed to you?”

“I dunno,” Sonic drawls, “Maybe because you confess to me almost every time we have sex. Or because you’ve written a hundred love songs about me since then.”

“I haven’t written a _hundred_ ,” Shadow snarls. “Also, who says they’re about you?”

“I do,” Sonic proudly declares, dragging a claw through the downy white tuft of hair on Shadow’s chest. “You start babbling out half-baked lyrics when you’re half-asleep. _The fairest set of eyes I’ve ever seen; from meadows, to forests, to the farthest heights I’ve been—_ ”

“Chaos, _stop_ ,” Shadow begs, narrowing his eyes up at his partner. “Why haven’t we ever talked about this sober?”

Sonic shrugs. “You like me. I think you’re pretty hot, and I like being liked. The sex was amazing. Didn’t have anything to talk about.”

“I put my heart on my sleeve and all I get is a cursory compliment about my obvious attractiveness?”

Rolling his eyes, Sonic says, “I’m reserving my thoughts for somebody who can manage to tell me his feelings when he isn’t under threat of never hitting this fine ass again.”

“Fuck you,” Shadow replies, briefly pulling out of Sonic’s embrace to get lube and condoms.

“Only if you ask nicely,” Sonic teases.

“Fuck you very much with a cherry on top.”

Pressing their noses together, Sonic grins. “Much better.”

Shadow fumbles through the motions like it’s his first time all over again. Sonic mumbles on and on about nothing in particular, a soothing litany of words that washes over him as he slowly works the blue hedgehog open, breath hot on Sonic’s half-hard dick.

“I like you like this,” Shadow mumbles. “Eager.”

Sonic laughs. “Tool.”

He drools a bit when Shadow hits his prostate with one jagged claw, wriggling to urge his partner to hit it one more time. When moaning and preening doesn’t work, he bucks up, nearly kneeing Shadow in the gut. “Be patient,” Shadow murmurs. “I want to savor this.”

“I liked it better when you were drunk and desperate.”

Shadow threateningly drags the head of his cock around Sonic’s rim, drinking in his responding wail like fine wine. “I could choke you out right now and no one would be the wiser.”

Cheekily, Sonic hazily glances up at Shadow, green eyes glossy. “Promise?”

 _Stupid, blindingly unguarded moron_ , Shadow thinks, pushing himself inside of Sonic agonizingly slowly. _He’d let me, too. That’s how much he trusts me._

“Another time, maybe,” Shadow hums, pistoning himself in his partner with a series of grunts. Sonic lifts his hips in time with Shadow’s motions, words of encouragement and solidarity flowing from his lips as they both chase climax. He tears a snag in the sheets, digging his nails in too roughly when Shadow starts biting his neck, the desire to leave his mark having never left him, inebriated or not.

“Shadow,” Sonic moans wetly. “ _C’mon_.”

Heeding Sonic’s plea, Shadow sturdily grips Sonic’s shaft and tugs, watching semen spill over his claws, enraptured. He comes just a few seconds later, feeling the condom become tacky around his cock. Pulling out is difficult, even when he’s soft, and cleaning up is even more annoying, but climbing back into bed with Sonic is worth it.

“So,” Sonic starts, “we gonna go record that new album of songs all about me or what?”

Shadow playfully flicks him in the forehead. “Don’t push your luck.”

“But I thought of some sick guitar riffs and everything.”

Muffling the sound of Sonic’s gripes with a pillow, Shadow begrudgingly wonders how the hell he fell in love with _that_ all over again.

* * *

[ _epilogue_ ]

Knuckles pretends to gag when he sees Sonic draped across Shadow’s lap the next morning. “You know, when I said I wanted you to work things out amongst yourselves, somehow, this isn’t what I had in mind.”

“Good for you, Sonic,” Tails says, honest congratulations seeping out of his pores.

“Get this, guys—”

Shadow interrupts Sonic, fully aware of what he’s going to share if he keeps talking. “You shut the fuck up. Only _three_ of those songs are studio-worthy, and even that’s pushing it. We need another themed album.”

“Why can’t the theme be romance? I’ll concede to _action_ -romance. That’s more fun anyways.”

“A romance-heavy action set in space? It’s overplayed, faker.”

“Clichés _sell_ , Shadow. Work with me, here.”

The two of them snarl even as the server hovers around the table, ready to take their orders before getting the hell out of dodge. While they’re busy hashing it out, Knuckles leans over to Tails. “I thought they were officially dating now or whatever?”

Aquamarine eyes roll. “C’mon, Knuckles. You think those two would have fun doing this if they didn’t get to squabble all the time? Just count yourself lucky that they haven’t started racing each other around the planet yet. Then, who cares about our next album—we’ll be busy trying to track down our resident heartthrobs.”

Knuckles quirks an eyebrow. “Heartthrobs?”

Tails pushes a few buttons on his phone before showing an accountant-worthy graph to the echidna, who gapes at it in awe. “The numbers don’t lie, Knux. Without those two, our band would fade into obscurity, so let’s just hope they like each other enough to keep putting out hits. As for why I know all this—who do you think did all our marketing before we hit the big time? And who keeps posting about their new relationship on social media? Our fans eat this stuff up.”

Warily, Knuckles scoots away from the two-tailed fox. “Y’know, buddy, you scare me sometimes.”

Slurping on his orange juice, Tails smirks. “All in a day’s work, my friend. All in a day’s work.”

**Author's Note:**

> ever think about how sonic canonically plays guitar because same
> 
> anywho, thanks for reading! ♡
> 
> ✧tumblr: **[quillifer](https://quillifer.tumblr.com/)**


End file.
